Barak Itzhaki (or Itzchaki, he, ברק יצחקי; born September 25, 1984, in

Ashkelon Ashkelon or Ashqelon (; Hebrew: , , ; Philistine: ), also known as Ascalon (; Ancient Greek: , ; Arabic: , ), is a coastal city in the Southern District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with ...

) is an Israeli former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. He mostly played a

second striker Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, but could also play an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

Early life

Itzhaki was born in Ashkelon, Israel, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family.

Career

Itzhaki started his professional career with boyhood club

Hapoel Ashkelon Hapoel Ashkelon F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל אשקלון, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Ashkelon'') is an Israeli football club based in Ashkelon. The club currently competes in Liga Alef and plays at the 5,250-capacity Sala Stadi ...

. During his first two seasons as a professional, Itzhaki won the Toto Cup Artzit twice. He was sold to Beitar Jerusalem and saw limited time under manager

Eli Ohana Eliyahu "Eli" Ohana ( he, אלי אוחנה; born ) is an Israeli former football player and the former chairman of Israeli club Beitar Jerusalem. He played as forward or midfielder for Beitar Jerusalem, KV Mechelen, S.C. Braga, and the Is ...

. With the arrival of French manager

Luis Fernández Luis Miguel Fernández Toledo (born 2 October 1959), known as Luis Fernandez, is a French football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. Fernandez spent most of his playing career for Paris Saint-Germain. He earned 6 ...

in 2005, Itzhaki received more playing time and was even a first team choice over the club's leading scorer, Lior Asulin. After watching Itzhaki play,

Fernández Fernández () is a Spanish surname meaning "son of Fernando". The Germanic name that it derives from ( Gothic: ''Frið-nanð'') means "brave traveler." The Portuguese version of this surname is Fernandes. The Arabized version is ''Ibn Faranda' ...

told the club to sign Itzhaki to a long-term contract. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Itzhaki attracted interest from

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

club

Racing Genk Koninklijke Racing Club Genk (), commonly known as KRC Genk, Racing Genk or simply Genk, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Genk in Belgian Limburg. Racing Genk plays in the Belgian Pro League and have won four champ ...

. Media reports say that he was offered a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

300,000 per annum contract that includes a 20% yearly wage rise for a period no less than three seasons. Beitar was reluctant to see Itzhaki leave and they have put a price on the striker of no less than US$1,000,000. On June 25, 2006, an official bid was sent for the immediate transfer of Itzhaki but Beitar chairman Vladimir Sklar rejected the offer of USD $250,000. While Itzhaki and the club were in training in

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, a representative of Racing Genk showed up at the hotel with an improved offer of USD $500,000. It initially looked as if Itzhaki would be sold to the Belgian sid

but he eventually signed a long-term contract with Beitar. In January 2008, Itzhaki agreed a move to Racing Genk, where he signed a 3.5 year contract. He scored his first Racing Genk goal in KV Mechelen, it is already named as the goal of the year in Belgium. After this goal he also scored against Moeskroen en Club Brugge. In July 2008, Itzhaki returned earlier as planned to Beitar Jerusalem F.C., Beitar Jerusalem due to home sickness. Once back in Jerusalem he became the top scorer of the

2008–09 Israeli Premier League The 2008–09 Israeli Premier League season began on 30 August 2008, and ended on 1 June 2009. Beitar Jerusalem were the defending champions, having won their 6th league title the previous year. Two teams from Liga Leumit were promoted at the end ...

Maccabi Tel Aviv

On June 9, 2010, Itzhaki signed a five-year-contract with

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

for a transfer fee of two million

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

paid to Beitar. He made his official debut for Maccabi at the home win against

FK Mogren FK Mogren was a football club based in Budva, Montenegro. Founded in 1920, it was two times champion of Montenegrin First League and once winner of Montenegrin Cup. In 2015, following the bankruptcy and debts, FK Mogren was relegated to the lowest ...

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

on July 15, 2010. On August 22, 2010, Itzhaki suffered a serious injury to his ACL against

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

and wasn't able to play until May 7, 2011. He made his return, replacing

Maor Buzaglo Maor Bar Buzaglo ( he, מאור בוזגלו; born 14 January 1988) is an Israeli former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Early life Buzaglo was born in Karmiel, Israel, to a Sephardic Jewish family. H ...

in a league match against

, the same team he played against when he got injured, 32 fixtures and almost 9 months after that injury. He scored his first league goal for Maccabi by a penalty shot in the 87th minute of the last game of the season against

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל מכבי נתניה, ''Football Club Maccabi Netanya'') is an Israeli football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. Afte ...

. In the summer of 2012 Itzhaki was loaned to

Anorthosis Famagusta Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fou ...

. In that season Itzhaki was a vital part of team, scoring 13 league goals in 23 matches. Barak was the last (loan) transfer of

Anorthosis Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fou ...

for the season 2012-13 and was the most helpful transfer of the year, he scored 13 goals in the league and helped the team to achieve the second place. Towards 2013–14 Itzhaki returned to

, making his first game for the club since his return in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

qualifying game against Győri ETO and accomplishing a great comeback to the club by scoring an important away goal.

Honours

Club

;

* Toto Cup (Artzit) : Winner 2001–02, 2002–03 ; Beitar Jerusalem F.C., Beitar Jerusalem *

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

: Winner 2006-07 *

Israel State Cup The Israel State Cup ( he, גביע המדינה, ''Gvia HaMedina''), is a knockout cup competition in Israeli football, run by the Israel Football Association (IFA). The State Cup was first held in 1928 as the People's Cup. Because it involve ...

: Winner 2008-09 *

Toto Cup The Israel Toto Cup ( he, גביע הטוטו, ''Gvia Ha'Toto'') is an association football tournament that features clubs in the two highest divisions in Israel: the Israeli Premier League ( Ligat Ha'Al), and the second division Liga Leumit. Fro ...

: Winner 2009-10 ;

* First Division : Runner-up

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

;

: Winner 2013–14, 2014–15 *

: Winner 2014-2015 *

: Winner 2014-15 , 2017–18

Individual

top scorer * January 2014 - UEFA's Goal of the Week

References

External links

KRC Genk Profile
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yitzhaki, Barak 1984 births Living people Israeli Jews Israeli footballers Jewish footballers Mizrahi Jews Israel international footballers Israel under-21 international footballers Israeli Premier League players Cypriot First Division players Belgian Pro League players Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. players Hapoel Ashkelon F.C. players Beitar Jerusalem F.C. players K.R.C. Genk players Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. players Israeli expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Belgium Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Footballers from Ashkelon Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent Association football forwards